Shattered Glass
by LunaCat16
Summary: Discovering that you have an afterlife is one thing; discovering what it's actually like is another. The Organization soon learn that lesson once they find Zexion, seemingly returned from the dead.
1. Chapter I: A Blank Slate

_A long time ago, perhaps maybe a week, I told myself to write a certain story. Of course, this certain thought came from the distorting combination of going to school at 7:00 in the morning and listening to very strange music on the iPod._

_I never knew what I was getting into. -_-_

_

* * *

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To the inhabitants of the dark streets of the World that Never Was, rain had become an enigma and a mystery. It often poured down in torrents when there were clouds in the sky, but sometimes it drizzled when the stars were bright and shining. Weather was rather unpredictable here, and most of the Lowers believed it had something to do with the white, foreboding castle above. However, today the moon was full and the stars glistening like never before, and the worst storm in years had come along. The eerie lights of the black buildings remained on, though they flickered ominously. The flash and crack of lighting sent a Dusk skittering into a narrow alleyway. No one should have been out in weather like this.

Yet there was someone. Well, that someone wasn't just strolling about, nor was he lying down under the cover of dark concrete alcoves and balconies. He appeared to be unconscious, and was lying face down in the middle of a street. Even stranger, his body was shielded by what appeared to be the tattered remains of a black leather coat, under which was an inconspicuous black shirt and what seemed to look like jeans, but much darker. One of the few remaining Dusks that were fleeing from the flood spotted the figure out of the corner of its vision (It could not be said as to whether they had eyes or not; that was a mystery left unsolved). It moved towards the curiosity with an inhuman gait, its legs stretching forward while the body stretched back, only to fling itself back into a normal-ish posture momentarily before taking another few steps. However, the poor and somewhat dim-witted servant creature did not expect to discover something truly astonishing.

The figure, upon closer inspection, had the lightest tan across his skin, and his hair was a slate-gray, with long bangs reaching down the right side of his face, the ends of which were a purple or indigo color. Instantly the Lower panicked. This wasn't just some random human-form (Or Higher, for short) Nobody that had been dropped off here by the raging tides of fate. This figure was familiar to the Dusk.

It was Zexion.

Instantly the creature recoiled, and backed away from the body. While Dusks weren't exactly smart, they still had intelligence and conscience, and hordes of questions and thoughts were rushing through its brain like an angry mob. He had died exactly 100 days ago! Well, give or take a couple of weeks; the announcement that he was dead was made at that time. Had they lied? No, they couldn't have. They couldn't be wrong either; the Organization was always right, at least in the mind of this Dusk. Yet if he was dead, then why did he come back to life? Was it magic? Was it merely a cruel prank?

The influx of so many thoughts almost pained the poor thing, so it merely shut them out and concentrated on what seemed like the most important goal: To show his discovery to one of the thirteen…or eight. Or was it nine now that—No, it was too confusing! A Dusk is surprisingly strong for its elastic and thin build, so it was able to drag the body with ease. It was sure that dragging wasn't healthy, but its luggage was much too large to actually lift. The boots, black and pointed, still remained on his feet, which was a help to the Dusk, since it was much easier to grasp onto a hard boot than a sock or bare foot.

After a while of dragging along the body through heavy rain and mazes of streets, of which it knew every way and what they led to, the Dusk finally arrived at the entrance to the castle. There was no door or bridge connecting the sudden drop-off to the fortress, however, and a huge, luminescent chasm would be a final confirmation to a normal person that it was impossible to enter here. However, Nobodies are different. The Dusk turned its head from side to side before placing the legs of its cargo down. It then slinked forward until it seemed that it was only a hair's-length from the pit below, and it looked up at the castle. In a moment it disappeared, leaving the body behind.

* * *

In contrast with the dark, urban metropolis below, the inside of the castle was white. Just pure, stark, bright white that filled the whole place with a sterile but uncomfortable feeling. The symbol of the Nobody, the silhouette of a heart pierced from the bottom by a dagger, was everywhere; on the floors, or the walls, or even the ceiling. Despite the overall creepiness of this place, the Dusk felt at home here, and slinked about the halls with a more casual air. It hoped that it had teleported near the lounge, where the members not sent off on missions would be hanging about and talking business. Sure enough, the servant's prediction was not off.

It did not enter the lounge right away, but rather pinned its body against the wall, and poked its head around the corner. The only one that seemed to be present at the moment was Saix. Being second-in-command, he almost never went on missions himself unless it was of upmost importance. Most of the time he would just look out the large windows and at the giant, heart-shaped moon in the sky, Kingdom Hearts. It was very important, being the very device that would give all of their hearts back, and all of their emotions as well. The man turned around, feeling as if something was watching him. He was correct, for he saw a white shape retreat around the corner. The Dusk attempted to slither away, but was grabbed firmly by the back of the head and pulled up with a great amount of force.

"What are you doing here, Dusk?" It did not see his face, but it could assume that he was as expressionless as ever. His voice was bland and without emotion, though it seemed as if he had placed almost spiteful emphasis on the word 'Dusk'. He dropped the creature, letting it fall limply on the floor before gathering itself up again.

While the creature did not actually speak, a sort of mental connection was made. It communicated that there was something outside, and while it could not be specific, it did seem a little frantic. Saix gave it a suspicious glance, but what it wanted was clear. He raised his hand and opened his palm, forming a dark, billowing door of shadows before them. He pushed the Dusk into the darkness, but followed close behind. The corridor closed and the lounge was left empty, with only Kingdom Hearts there to cast its light.

* * *

Nothing had changed in the place that the Dusk left the body. Except for the fact that instead of lying on the street face-down he was now up against a wall. The figure was curled into himself, as if trying to retreat from everything around him. He was conscious, but at the same time he was still detached, for he appeared to be mumbling to himself. Not just the usual insane things such as talking to oneself or singing, but he was simply saying words. Well, at first he would say a word, but it would soon turn into a chain of synonyms, which would then lead to another word, which would then continue the neverending string of vocabulary.

Of course, Saix did not expect this at all when he came out of the corridor with the Dusk, and once he stepped out he eyed the figure at first with disdain and repulsion. However, that repulsion soon turned into curiosity as he noticed how familiar the figure seemed, and the curiosity soon turned into shock. This was Zexion all right. He was back from the dead, lying right on the doorsteps to the castle, and so far looked, for lack of better words, raving mad. But how? Axel had killed him back at Castle Oblivion; and when he gave the report he seemed very sure of it. It would be impossible that he hadn't succeeded, so then how could Zexion be brought back…? Saix leaned down and lifted up the young man's bangs, which had decided to spread over all of his face, only to find frightened turquoise eyes staring back at him. "Zexion? How did you get out of there alive?"

The reply that followed started it all.

"Who are you?"

* * *

_So...what did you think? Review, or else I'll just leave this alone forever..._

_Don't worry rabid fans, Zexion won't stay all insane forever. And he might not be the only one that returned...  
_


	2. Chapter II: The Snowball Effect

_Things are going to be picking up soon…_

_I prefer to either end or begin with a bang~_

_Especially large ones. :3_

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_

The lounge was the same as it was when it left, which relieved Saix as he practically ran out of the corridor. If he had emotions, he would currently be flailing about in a wave of ecstasy, distress, and fascination. On one hand, he was very, very grateful that Zexion had all of his memory lost, which meant that he could easily finish the Nobody off. On the other hand, he really did not want the Schemer to be alive in the first place. Not only did it bring up the question of Axel's loyalty to their little plot, but it also brought up the fact that if Axel had betrayed him, he probably would have snitched on someone who would gladly dole out the punishment to him. However, there was also the possibility that Zexion had actually come back from…wherever Nobodies went when they died. However, the chance that it would be a horrible place was high, since the kid seemed to have completely cracked.

The Diviner sighed, and sat himself down on one of the large couches that lay around the room. It had certainly taken quite a lot of effort to drag Zexion into the corridor with him and trap him in his room. In fact, it was harder than handling the pressure put on him by his position as Superior's right-hand man. Now he just wanted to rest and think before he did anything else. Heck, maybe he would forget about everything that just happened, and the little nut would starve, and then he wouldn't have any responsibility. Yes, that would be quite good…

However, his little daydream wouldn't last for long. Loud, quick footsteps resounded through the room, signaling the approach of what was likely another member. It was Luxord, and for once he seemed, well, not calm. His breathing was quick and his bleach-blonde hair was ruffled and looked somewhat windblown. Not to mention that his hood, already drawn back, fostered a small pile of sand. He glanced Saix and walked over to him quickly, looking rather grateful that someone else was in the room. As he drew near, Saix could notice shadows under the man's eyes, and a trace of…was that fear? Luxord was one of the members that played pretend with their emotions, but he almost never showed fear. "Saix," his voice wavered a little, "We have a problem."

"What is it? Can't you see that I'm rather tired right now?" His golden eyes narrowed at the fellow member.

"I was in Agrabah…" Well, that explained the sand. "And I found something odd. It wasn't a Heartless, or even a new Nobody. In actuality, it looked like one of us until upon closer inspection, when it seemed to be—"

Saix almost jumped up upon hearing the Gambler's testimony. So what if he had no emotions? This situation could not be expressed blandly at the current moment. "You too?" His voice was excited, yet utterly terrified. The fact that Saix was expressing emotion was enough to set poor Luxord off edge. Of course, the fact that both of them had found exactly the same thing (Or at least assumed they had) would be enough to freak out anyone.

"My God…" Luxord paused for a moment, backing up a few steps. "Who was it?" Like Saix, he assumed that the other knew exactly what they were talking about. Fortunately, since both were rather intelligent, their assumptions were well-made.

"Zexion. And you?" Saix almost growled the name of his adversary; the one that had once been the only thing blocking him from becoming second-in-command. It was obvious that he resented the fellow.

"I believe it was Marluxia, but…" Luxord faltered towards the end, as if uncertain if he wanted to reveal any particularly nasty details to the Diviner.

"Has he gone mad?" He was hoping that Luxord would respond with a yes. The scythe-wielding neophyte had been plotting to overthrow the Organization, but if he was not capable of doing so he felt that they would be relieved of any worry.

"He's still unconscious, so I couldn't tell, but his physical condition is in horrible shape. I haven't the slightest inclination as to what happened to him. I put him in his chambers for the Lowers to attend to. How about Zexion?"

"Well, restraining him was actually easier than I thought it would be. I locked him in his room so he doesn't get out and, well, disturb anyone. In a way one has to feel sorry for the child; I don't think he had any idea what was going on."

"Oh dear…" Luxord looked out of the lounge and towards the hallway leading from it, as if expecting the Schemer to come running out and attack them as a wild animal would. "Well, let's keep this a little secret for now, shall we?"

Unfortunately for them, the three younger members, Demyx, Roxas, and Xion, came rushing into the room in a similar manner as Luxord had, except in a much more frantic manner. Roxas, being the faster one, almost ran into Saix, but stopped himself in time. What he said was much like Luxord's explanation. However, since he wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the box, it was a bit harder to understand what Roxas was getting at. "Saix…we were on a mission and we found…er…that big guy with the brown hair that's supposed to be dead. You know, the one that taught me stuff…"

Roxas continued his pitiful attempt at explaining what he and the others had found, while Xaldin stalked into the room, and then addressed Saix, with… "Saix, I found Larxene lying in the courtyard of the Beast's Castle. Wasn't she supposed to be dead?"

By now the poor, blue-haired man was surrounded, with Luxord at his front, Roxas and Xaldin at his sides, and Demyx and Xion only a few feet behind him, watching the spectacle unfold with the traditional curiosity of bystanders. Now was one of the many times Saix felt grateful for having no emotion, because if he did then everyone in this room would probably be dead. He sighed and put on his calmest façade, pushing Roxas aside as he walked away from the mini-swarm of members. "I know, Xaldin. It has been addressed before. However, does Xigbar know of this?"

This time Roxas answered. "Well…yeah. He offered to carry the guy back to his room…"

Saix looked over all of them, and then considered the real factor in the situation. What if Xemnas found out? There was no telling what the man might do, and knowing him, if the members rescued were incapable of doing anything, he would have them killed off. It was the right thing to do, no use in wasting time on burdens, but something just didn't feel right about the whole 'coming back to life' thing. Had Axel really just failed to kill them all? He noticed the redhead just entering the lounge, and after giving them a strange look, decided to leave. Giving the group a stern glare, Saix set out to follow his target. "I have something to attend to. You are to keep this situation quiet, or else."

Once his footsteps could no longer be heard, the whole room shivered. They knew the meaning of the Diviner's threats, and they would do nothing to challenge him. Demyx, feeling rather uncomfortable, felt that he should lighten up the mood. "So, you guys want to hear this new song I made?"

Of course, as one could guess, that didn't turn out so well for him.

* * *

Meanwhile, Axel was heading back to his room. He had sensed that something weird was going on in the lounge, and didn't think that disturbing them would be good. The hallways were dark, and the only light seemed to come from the doors to the quarters, which lined the sides in a rather spread-out fashion. The left side was for the odd numbers, and the right side for the even numbers, much like their meeting area, Where Nothing Gathers. However, most members thought of the long name as inefficient, so to them it just became the meeting room. Everything seemed normal, yet as Axel was nearing his chamber he heard a small voice coming from where Zexion had once dwelled. It sounded a bit like mumbling, but Axel was not able to find out what the source was, for in a moment he soon found himself pinned against the wall opposite the room, and Saix looking down at him with the coldest stare he had ever felt. "Axel…"

"S-Saix? Uh…What's going on? Everyone's kind of acting strange." Axel kept the usual casual tone in his voice, but he could sense that all was not right. While Saix did have a good reason to suspect his partner of foul play, in reality the chakram-wielder hadn't the slightest clue what was going on. Still, Saix persisted with his questioning.

"Did you really kill everyone in Castle Oblivion, like you said?" The answer was met with a slow nod from Axel. Saix looked at him more closely, observing his eyes. Axel had gotten a little more 'emotional' nowadays, and it was much easier to read him than before. To the surprise of the Diviner, Axel seemed to be completely honest, and while he was not frightened, he was very confused. Releasing his grip, Saix went over to Zexion's chamber and put an ear to the door. The Schemer seemed to have finally stopped rambling.

"Saix, is there something wrong?" Axel looked over at the door, wondering what exactly Saix was trying to hear. So he knew about the weird voice? This was just getting too odd. Next thing he knew it would turn out like that movie that Demyx had found and forced him to watch; the one about how the real world wasn't real or something. He couldn't remember much, but he knew that it did have some cool action scenes and robot things. He was just hoping that this scenario wouldn't turn out like that.

"Yes, Axel. There is something very wrong." Saix opened the door, revealing the inhabitant of the room. Zexion was curled up on the floor, leaning against the bed, his visible eye gazing at Axel with piercing focus. The young Nobody then started to speak. At first, they were legitimate, albeit strange, questions, such as "Where am I?" or "How did I get here?". However, it soon spiraled down into the chain of words again once he got hold of an adjective or verb. At least it was an improvement from just rambling. Not even bothering to snap Zexion out of his trance, Saix closed the door on him and then looked over at Axel's face, which was paler than usual. "We have a problem."

"I kind of noticed that as soon as you showed me the d*mn thing." Axel peeled his eyes away from the door and looked at Saix, as if expecting him to explain everything. Saix merely gave one of his rare smiles, shrugged, and continued on his way down the hall, leaving Axel to process the information. Entering his own room, which he regretted was next to Zexion's, Axel sat down on the bed and began to contemplate on the situation. Did Zexion really come back from the dead? After a few minutes, Axel grinned to himself. Why bother trying to find this out for himself, if thought took way too much effort than the alternative. All they would have to do is get Zexion better and make him spill the beans! Right now the best thing to do was to get Zexion to stop being so…creepy. However, Axel did not like that option very much. "Ugh…Please let there be other members…Please let there be other members…" Fortunately for him, there were others. He just didn't know about them yet.

* * *

_I believe that the name for this chapter is rather sensible. After all, one little event does turn into chaos~_

_Remember to review, critique, suggest, and all the other little things that an author like to hear._

_One word for a preview: Scorpions..._

_And as for pairings, those probably won't come in until later, and even then they will only remain a minor part. I won't give away any hints though. ;D  
_


	3. Chapter III: Of Insects Below the Roses

_The story is just getting started here…_

_I will take out the bars for spacing my notes as well, since they've been disagreeing with me lately~_

The awkward silence in the lounge had been broken thanks to Demyx, who was currently nursing his wounds and pride in his chamber, but something still didn't feel right for Luxord. How could they just forget about the fact that four members that were presumed dead had just returned out of nowhere? He just couldn't relax right now. The lounge chair he had seated himself in felt too hard, and his whole body was stiff with tension. Even the glow from the heart-shaped moon wasn't helping to calm his spirits. Glancing around at the other three members, he soon noticed that none of them were interested in him, which was good. He wouldn't want them to be suspicious when he left, after all. All he had to do now was to concentrate…

When he looked about a few seconds later, time had stopped completely. Now was the time to move. He wasn't the paranoid type at all, but he just didn't want his absence to be noticed, because that would mean that he would be asked where he was going, and then he might be followed, and then that would just take too long. He was a man of efficiency, and being stalled just wasn't something he would want right now. He strolled out of the room with an incredibly casual air, and once he was quite far away he snapped his fingers. Time would return in a few seconds, and no one would have even noticed what happened. In fact, if they spotted his empty chair they would just assume that he had left without their acknowledgement and continue on with their conversation. The Gambler had done this many times before, and it never failed him. It was his only trick he could rely on.

He passed the line of doors without any show of interest, but as he neared his room he didn't even stop to glance at it. Instead, he looked over to the opposite side and continued down the dark hall until he came upon Marluxia's chamber. He stopped for a moment, pondering as to whether to enter or not, but he pushed the door open anyway. The room was much like everyone else's chamber, except for the fact that it had a little taste of Castle Oblivion in it, with white flower sculptures and a couple of vases spread around. It was a little bit creepy, but as long as it didn't get in the way of anything important it was fine. Luxord leaned against the far wall, watching his loot closely. He never really viewed anyone as being 'real'. To him they were just tools; some could be the useful entertaining types that one grows fond of, while others could be the stubborn types that just don't work the way one wants them too. So far Marluxia was the first kind of tool.

He had kept the Graceful Assassin's cloak, which had surprisingly remained intact, on the man's body, and had really only seen him when he had lifted the hood off. Which was not a good turn of fate for Luxord; he still couldn't get the ravaged image out of his mind. As far as he could tell, Marluxia was still unconscious, but that was fine. He could wait for an hour or so if he had to, or at least until someone came around and ruined everything. So he waited, focusing his mind on other matters than the present to occupy him.

After about ten minutes the man stirred. Luxord snapped out of his thoughts once he heard a low and familiar groan. Marluxia rolled his body to face the wall that the Gambler was resting on, and now his rescuer was hoping that he would finally be able to talk to the former traitor. Yet there was no response, and instead the neophyte seemed startled, and was feeling around for something. What was he doing anyway? The Assassin rose to a sitting position at the edge of the bed, and was still feeling about desperately with his hands. Then the grim realization struck Luxord: Marluxia was blinded. It was the only logical conclusion, considering his actions at the moment. The blonde cleared his throat a little in an attempt to alert the man to his presence.

In an instant, the long scythe that Marluxia wielded was at his throat. Its blade was now a sickly brown instead of pink, however, and the stem was shorter and a bit wilted-looking. Not even bothering to move his head to the direction of the voice, the Assassin spoke with unexpected clarity for one whose body had been, well, nearly destroyed. "Who is it?"

"It's Luxord, if you'd care to remember." He was unfazed by the threat, and was speaking as eloquently as he normally would. "Could you put this way? I see no reason for it to be directed towards me. You're safe for now, my friend."

The scythe vanished in a shower of dead petals, which withered away into nothing as they fell onto the floor. Marluxia sighed with what seemed to be great relief, and he fell backwards onto the bed. While Luxord could not see his face, he appeared to be very content. "Home is much better than that hell I was in." Marluxia chuckled to himself, as if his statement were some inside joke that only he understood. "Still, I assume that I'll be killed. You know, 'traitor to the goal of the Organization' and all."

Luxord could have sworn that the man was smiling. He moved closer to the bed, as if trying to get at least some idea of what Marluxia was speaking. To his dismay, the neophyte was unreadable. "Well, I do hope that Superior wouldn't resort to such a dreadful option. After all, you could prove useful to us."

"How so?" Marluxia turned towards Luxord's voice so as to look like he was at least listening.

"Well, this 'hell' of yours isn't very exclusive. Other members have been turning up here and there, and we want to know why." Sensing that he would have to use his voice more than anything to communicate, for obvious reasons, he had put more emotion into his words than he normally would have, adding a stern tone at the end.

"I'm sorry, but I don't know the answer to that, but I can tell you what it's like." Marluxia stood up fully this time, though he appeared to be a bit unsteady on his feet. "First of all, it's as if one is suspended in space. I couldn't move at all. It was peaceful at first…" He walked across to the window of his room, which quite ironically was one of the only ones without a view of Kingdom Hearts, and rested his elbows on the sill. "But then the wave arrived. It came as a sudden blast of light; light which burned and flashed and threatened to tear out everything I had. In a way it was almost a choice: I either let it burn away my body or my mind."

"So you chose your body…" This was rather new for Luxord. Marluxia was incredibly vain and quite meticulous about how he looked. In all honesty, he would have expected the Assassin to lose his mind rather than his 'beauty' (Though why he considered his hair color to be attractive was a mystery to Luxord).

However, Marluxia seemed to ignore him as he went on with his tragic tale. "So I let it ravage my body instead, and it was painful. In the beginning I tried to use my powers to shield myself, but the light turned it against me. It was horribly bright as well, so I closed my eyes often to block it out, but after a while it was always dark, whether my eyes were open or not. Eventually it just all stopped, and I woke up here."

If Luxord hadn't been taught good manners as a young child he would have just exited the room at some point. He always hated sob stories, and what he really wanted to hear from Marluxia was a straight-forward answer, not some drawn-out retelling. He knew that the man was a bit dramatic, but this was just pushing it. However, at he got the idea that this place wasn't exactly a peaceful little afterlife. Then, out of all the things Luxord did not want him to do, the Assassin pulled up the sleeve of his coat a little, feeling the flesh beneath.

It was only a small bit of Marluxia that was being shown, but it was obvious that the damage was horrible. The arm was terribly discolored, and it was blotched all over with bruise-like patches over ghostly pale skin. However, the real horrors were the plants. In a cruel twist of irony, flora seemed to be sprouting from his arm, as if trying to perform a slow and torturous metamorphosis of their victim. As if to further the horror, a tiny and thorny rose was in bloom. It was obvious that Marluxia was not doing this for Luxord to see, and so the man was able to turn his head away quite quickly. The only question was if those plants were still growing or not. Would the kill him? He actually doubted it. What was going on with Marluxia right now was just plain unnatural.

However, a sudden loud crash broke the two of them from their deep thoughts, and Luxord looked out the door to see what was wrong. Everything seemed to be okay, but he heard a scuffling noise from the room across them. Perhaps Larxene had woken up, but an inhuman screech immediately dismissed the theory. Forgetting to stop time so he could plan ahead, Luxord ran out of the room, leaving a completely dazed and blind Marluxia to figure out what the heck was going on. Upon reaching the door, Luxord flung it open, only to find a monster.

The room was trashed, and the last shreds of nothingness were fading from where Larxene had once been. Blood stained the walls, and the murderer was right in a dark corner, wearing the woman's cloak like some morbid trophy. It actually looked like her, with the same facial structure, hair, and feminine form, but that was where all similarities stopped. The eyes were large and of a thin almond-shape, and the eyes were a pure, glowing white. The skin was black like a Heartless, as well as her hair. A long, narrow proboscis-like appendage hung from its grinning mouth, with writhing mandibles on the end. It had four arms instead of the normal two, and the fingers were tipped with hooked claws and the hands were armored with chitin. The insect-like legs were unnaturally long and bent, a bit like a grasshopper's, causing the thing to have to use its bottom arms to help it crawl farther back into the corner. It had a long, segmented, half-curled tail as well, which ended in a bulbous stinger, much like a scorpion's, and already dripping with some yellowish liquid. It gave a mad cackle as Luxord approached, and then faded away into a cloud of shadows, much like a Heartless did. By the time Marluxia finally stumbled over to his companion it was gone, and Luxord was silent.

Closing the door slowly, he turned to Marluxia and looked at him grimly. While he knew that the man would have no idea what he was doing, he still needed to feel as if he were taking the proper effort to talk. "We can't keep this a secret any longer."

"What was in there, anyway?" Now Marluxia was starting to regret the fact that he had asked, for Luxord still did not respond to his question directly.

"You'll learn soon enough. I'm going to alert the rest of this predicament, and you'll come with me as well; I fear that this might not be an isolated incident." He grabbed onto his companion's sleeve and pulled, which was obviously a motion for him to follow. Right now questions were flying through his head. How did something like that get through the castle's defenses? What was it anyway, and why did it look so much like Larxene?

As they made their way from the hall, the sound of their footsteps disappeared, and all that was left was the silence and darkness of before. This time, however, it seemed more threatening than calming…

_Amazing, no need for the bars in this chapter at all._

_Well, as I said in the last chapter, scorpions..._

_And I do think I shall need to re-enforce my stronghold, lest those rabid Marluxia fans maul me alive. XD_

_As with before, reviews are very nice. I will answer questions and such with PMs, but I am keeping things very tight for now._


	4. Chapter IV: Fitting In the Pieces

_Like a puzzle, the pieces are coming together._

_Unfortunately for you readers, only the edges are done~_

At the same time that Luxord had left to go into Marluxia's room, Axel went over to check on Zexion. Well, it wasn't really checking; he was just going over to interrogate him. Besides, the Schemer's rambling was carrying through the walls, and Axel was starting to feel that he would go crazy as well. He creaked open the door slowly, and hesitated before walking in. Zexion was in the same position that Saix had left him in, and was still going on with his little word chain. However, he stopped his rambling once Axel walked in, and was staring at him intently. Once again, he repeated the question that was ignored earlier by Saix. "Who are you?"

Axel looked down on the boy with an expression of confusion and minor pity. So it seemed that the Schemer really had forgotten everything. He came over by the bed and sat down in what was to him an effort to make his presence a little less unusual. "I'm Axel. You probably don't remember, but we've known each other before."

Zexion gave a slow nod, and then spouted out another question. "Where is this?"

And so Axel gave his answer in the shortest and simplest way possible. While he was somewhat sure that Zexion's intellect hadn't deteriorated (Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to use so many words for his ranting), he didn't want to cause too much confusion. Zexion, of course, would just pause for a moment before firing off another brief question. Oddly enough, the boy was acting rather emotional for a Nobody. While his reactions did confuse his interrogator, they weren't too bothersome. This continued for a few minutes until Axel finally got tired of the monotonous cycle. Now it was time to ask something more interesting. "So, what was it like being…dead?"

Zexion stared at Axel, his eyes widening with stress. However, once he took a couple of deep breaths he felt better. "It was like…" He stopped for a moment and looked around as if afraid that someone might be watching them. "A dark…shadow-filled…abyssal…endless…eternal…infinite…"

Great. Another word chain. This time Axel was prepared though, and snapped his fingers to catch the boy's attention. He had already assumed that it might not be so hard to stop Zexion from rambling on, and his conclusion was correct. Shaking his head like he was shooing away bugs, the Schemer stopped talking and looked up at Axel. Of course, the redhead had even prepared an explanation. "You were going on with words and stuff. How about I just give a snap every time you ramble on about something?"

Zexion gave a nod of approval, and then continued with his explanation. "Torrent…current…" _Snap_. "There was no way…path…direction…" _Snap._ "Out of…away from…the beating down. It stripped…removed…" _Snap._ "Everything I had." Zexion stopped, sensing that his partially incoherent explanation might be enough for Axel.

"Eh, good enough. Now, about the snapping…" He was about to continue his impromptu counseling when a loud screech sounded through the room. Summoning his chakrams, which were starting to heat up in his hands, he dashed outside the room and looked around the halls. There was nothing out of the ordinary from the looks of it; it was often too dark to see the rooms on the end, which for some reason were spaced out farther than normal ones, so he sent away his weapons and re-entered Zexion's chamber. The boy looked up at him curiously. "And that was…?" It was obvious that he expected clarification on the source of the sound.

Axel shrugged, instead walking past where his acquaintance was sitting. "I have no idea. A Heartless probably got in and they must've taken care of it."

Oh, how wrong he was, for in a minute or so he heard footsteps from outside the room. He opened the door again for what felt like the millionth time, and he spotted Luxord walking down the hall at a brisk pace, dragging along what looked like another member with his cloak fully on. To Axel this looked humorous, but when the Gambler spotted him and broke into a half-jog, he sensed that something weird was going on. What was it with this day and impossibilities? First they had Zexion come back from the dead, and now this weird screech? Luxord stopped in his tracks as he came close to Axel, trying to catch his breath; even Nobodies got exhausted at times. The cloaked figure almost bumped into his companion, but stopped just in time. "Axel…" The Gambler sounded utterly beat.

"Let me guess, _another_ strange and inexplicable problem?" When Luxord nodded slowly, Axel almost collapsed. The man explained everything that had happened, first by revealing to Axel that all of the members had been brought back except for Vexen, whose whereabouts were still unknown, and by telling him about the monster that had killed Larxene. Axel listened closely, but he was also looking at the figure that was still attached to Luxord. From what the man was saying, Larxene had been killed, so the only real options for the identity of the cloaked one, if he was one of the ones brought back, would have to either be Lexaeus or Marluxia. From the looks of it, the person under the cloak was not huge and burly. When Luxord finished reporting the disaster, Axel walked up to his companion. "Marluxia, I'm guessing?"

In response, the Assassin turned his head towards Axel. "It's been a long time. However, there are more pressing matters here."

"You're right…" The redhead glanced back at Zexion, who had stood up and was at the entrance to his chamber. Axel turned back to Luxord, who was already looking worriedly at the room across from them, where Lexaeus was. "I'm guessing that leaving them alone isn't the best idea."

"Correct." The Gambler opened the Silent Hero's door, only to find him resting peacefully. "We need to alert everyone else and get these three out of here. Unfortunately…"

"You'll have to tell Superior." Axel snickered a little, and then went to grab Zexion, who still hadn't fully ventured outside the comfort of his room yet. "I'm sure that will end well." Upon getting a loose hold of the boy's arm he tugged him outside. Luckily the Schemer did not resist, and followed his partner closely.

"Xemnas was never one for big surprises." While Luxord was summoning a few of his Lowers to guard Lexaeus, Marluxia was leaning against the wall opposite from Axel. "Still, this is one announcement that must be given."

"Yeah…By the way, I'll drop off some roses after the funeral." Axel began to head off towards the lounge, Zexion tailing behind him like some sort of stray animal looking for food. Before he disappeared into the lightless corridor he gave a casual wave, as if signaling a preemptive goodbye to the Assassin. Today's meeting was going to be very fun.

* * *

The feel of the meeting room was more tense than usual as the members appeared. Xigbar had contacted Saix earlier, and now the second-in-command was going to alert the Superior of the fact that there was some sort of miniature crisis going on right now. Demyx was looking down at the floor, which wasn't very far away, since his throne ranking was one of the lowest. Roxas and Xion were uncomfortably sharing the same seat, since the Superior had not yet put in a throne for her. Xaldin and Xigbar appeared to be engaged in a serious conversation, for their voices were low and could hardly be heard. Zexion was trying to avoid staring down at the ground below, since as far as he remembered this was a first for him, and Axel was tapping his fingers impatiently on the arms of his throne. All of them were trying to stay occupied with something else, but were obviously failing.

Once Saix and Xemnas finally appeared in their thrones the room's atmosphere relaxed momentarily, but soon regained the charged feeling that it carried before. Xemnas looked down on all of them, stopping a few seconds to gaze at the couple of thrones where there were now members that had once died, but otherwise showed no emotional reaction. In fact, he never did unless it was involving one of his speeches with Kingdom Hearts. He finally spoke, his voice resonating through the room. "There is…a crisis, as Saix had said?"

Luxord nodded, and looked up at the Superior's throne to respond to him. After all, he had seen the most, so it was only right for him to be the one reporting. "Yes. Earlier today many of us found members who we knew had died in Castle Oblivion. The ones that have awoken show serious trauma in various ways." He glanced over at Marluxia momentarily before continuing. "There is also a more pressing issue. I witnessed the most horrible scene of my entire non-existence. Larxene, one of the members found, was brutally killed by a monstrous creature. However, the truly vexing thing was that while it shared many features with the Heartless, it also looked much like her. It disappeared before I had the chance to attack it, but it definitely seemed to be quite a danger."

Xemnas's eyes flickered over to the empty throne next to Luxord, where Larxene might have been sitting in right now if it weren't for the creature. He sighed deeply, as if about to reveal some dreaded secret. "I believe I know the thing you are speaking of, Luxord."

Silence bogged down the room, and all eyes were on the high throne. Well, almost all eyes. Marluxia was actually a little bit off in his 'gaze', and had turned his head more towards Xigbar than the Superior. This slightly creeped out the Freeshooter, but he didn't want to run the chances of finding out what this mystery beast was. Xemnas cleared his throat, and began to speak.

"When I was a Somebody in my days of working with Ansem the Wise as his apprentice, we had stumbled across an interesting piece of research involving the Heartless. We were testing how our subject's Darkness to Light ratio, that is how much darkness was in their hearts, would affect their overall appearance as a Heartless. Many of those with good morals and such only became weak Shadows. Criminals and the dark-hearted, on the other hand, turned into much stronger and more grotesque beasts. Oddly enough, some of the strongest retained a humanoid form while gaining mutations that would obviously twist and deform their appearance."

Xemnas paused, letting his followers take everything in. After a few minutes of stunned silence, Demyx finally spoke up. "So…you're saying that the weird thing might have been Larxene's Heartless?" While the Nocturne wasn't always the brightest tool in the box, at times he was greatly insightful, much more so than the more analytical members. All looked towards Xemnas, expectant for his approval or disapproval.

The man hesitated for a moment, and then nodded slowly and deliberately. "Yes, I am."

Just then a loud crash shook the whole room, breaking up any thoughts that might have been forming in the Organization's heads. A Gambler Nobody warped into the meeting room, shouting loud, clear, and desperately panicked. "Master Luxord! We were unable to fight the creature off in time…It…Well, It…"

"It did what?" Luxord glared down at his servant, his stern voice seeming louder than normal.

"It took Lexaeus, Master!"

_Whee, the Lowers are back again! :D_

_I always liked those guys. Anyways, this feels short than usual for some reason…_

_Oh well. You know the drill: Review and critique. ;)_

_And just so you all know, I'll probably be a nightly updater most of the time._

_I also have one request: Please tell friends and such about the fic if you really like it. More people noticing this makes me happy. :3_


	5. Chapter V: Unexpectations

_Many adventures have strange hubs or vessels._

_The real difference is what they look like…_

The meeting had been called off quickly when the Lower gave the announcement, and now they were outside Lexaeus's room, the site of the kidnapping. While the Superior and Saix were questioning the panicked Nobodies, the rest were simply waiting for something to happen. Like in the case of Larxene, the room was completely trashed, possibly moreso due to the fact that the assumed Heartless did not know of the presence of guards, but in this case there were no bloodstains on the walls, which was definitely a good sign. There was a slight sense of paranoia running through the whole group at the moment, and none of them wandered off from the entrance. After all, what if those creatures weren't just targeting the ones that came back? All of them might be on the hitlist. When Saix emerged from the closed door a few minutes later they all felt relieved. "Do you know what happened to him?" Roxas, being the youngest and most curious, was the first to speak.

"For the most part, everything is still being clarified. However, Superior wanted me to show you something in the lower parts of the castle." Saix, in his usual cold manner, didn't even look down at the boy, and instead continued onwards through the hall, obviously expecting them to follow.

Not wanting to disobey the Diviner, the rest followed, but Roxas trailed behind, stealing a few glances back at the door before it disappeared into the darkness. This was miserable for him; he had only just got the hang of everything in the Organization and then something else had to come up and ruin his sense of stability! Sometimes this was just too confusing to comprehend. He looked over at Zexion, who appeared to almost be clinging to Axel, and felt a sting of pity. Roxas knew all too well what it was like to have no memories and then be swept up into some crazy, grand plot without hardly any explanation of what was going on. He decided that one day he would help out the member that had once explained so much to him; it was the least he could do in return. A smug smile crossed his face, and he was feeling quite pleased with himself. Of course, this caught the attention of Xion, who was right next to him. "What are you up to now?"

"It's nothing," Roxas replied cheerfully, "I'm just thinking of good things." Indeed he was. Good plans of helping out those less fortunate, and making himself seem that much better in everyone else's eyes. Besides, Axel looked quite tired of the Schemer, and Roxas wouldn't want him to handle the burden alone. He had no idea where his sense of goodwill came from, considering half of the people he hung around with, but it was there and he was very proud of it.

"Okay." Xion was a bit suspicious of her friend, and worried that he might try the 'evil plot' trick with her, which was often his response when she asked him that question. When she first heard him answer that way, which was while they were sharing ice cream in Twilight Town, she had actually believed him due to her naiveté. However, she would never fall for that again.

As they continued their travels throughout the castle, something very odd started to happen. While they did pass many familiar rooms on the way to the lower floors, such as the computer area and the library, which Axel had to literally drag Zexion away from, some places just seemed to be foreign. In actuality, practically no one except for Xemnas and Saix were allowed down here on their own, so the whole feel of the places was new to everyone. It was dark, but not like the halls above. Instead of looking like a void, it actually seemed as if lights were turned off, and some very dim glow had replaced them. As they continued downward the style seemed to be getting more mechanical as well. Neon lights replaced natural illumination, and there were wires lying all over the place like monstrous, bloated snakes. Marluxia tripped over a couple of them, but otherwise there were few disturbances in their observant and silent journey. Eventually the presence of white walls disappeared, leaving only black, sleek slates, many of which were covered and choked by even more machinery. Saix only stopped them when they were in front of a large and smooth rectangular door, which was actually two pieces fitted together. "Before you enter, there will have to be a little bit of explaining about what you're going to see. Back during the early days of the Organization Xemnas and Vexen started a little pet project here, one that only the Lowers assisted in making. It was basically a last defense weapon, which would be a sort of fail-safe if the castle ever were to be destroyed. However, later on, when more members started to pour in, they turned it into a ship as well. I was let in on this project only after Vexen died, and by then it was cancelled. Luckily for us, it was confirmed to be operational and suitable for flight."

Saix then slid open a small box jutting out of a wall, which was revealed to be a security device. He pushed four of the buttons, and the door opened itself in the slow manner of neglected machines. Inside was a huge, hangar-like area, and in the middle of it…the ship. The Diviner smirked, and then walked inside. "This, my fellow Nobodies, is the Eternal Void." Everyone trailed behind him, trying to get a closer view of the ship. Marluxia, however, stayed outside, with his arms crossed in an insulted manner. Being a man of pride, he wasn't about to subject his ears to their expressions of awe while he would be forced to beg for a description.

Now, dear readers, I would like you to think of the World of Nothingness boss fight from the second game, and compare the dragonesque vessel to the one that the Nobodies are gawking at right now. The whole figure of the Eternal Void was very similar, except for the fact that it was missing the mace-like cylinders on the tail, and the cylindrical chambers on its sides. The head was of the same structure, except its exposed opening was now replaced by a black-tinted window, and there were no signs of blue or pink tints on it, just pure black-and white. It filled up almost the whole hangar-area, of which the description of gigantic would be an understatement. It's long, arm-like appendages were spread out flat, along with its wings, which lay neatly on top of them. The vessel was straight from the head to the end of the body, and the tail was curled in a manner that would prevent any scratches done to it by scraping against the wall. As they walked closer to it, the Eternal Void's great size only became more and more obvious. It could easily house all of them and more from the looks of it. However, Roxas was a bit confused as to why Saix was showing them the ship now. Were they going to fly it? "Saix…What is this ship for, anyway?"

Saix turned around, staring at the boy with quite the stern look. "We're going to use it, of course. Xemnas said he would specify things soon, but I believe it is for tracking down those vile impersonators." By impersonators, he meant the Heartless, of course. Those beasts would be in no way able to equal the power of Nobodies, and the fact that some resembled them was just disgusting.

This time Axel was the one with the question. "We can just use the Corridors for that. I mean, it wouldn't be hard to find them without using a magical dragon ship." His tone towards the end was rather sarcastic; he didn't think much of the vessel before him.

"Axel, I'm afraid you don't fully understand these Corridors you take for granted." Xaldin, on the other hand, was much more fascinated by the Eternal Void. He always had that sort of dragon-like feel to him, with his Dragoon Nobodies and all. "They can only lead you to places that you know, and even then they aren't fully reliable. If someone tried to find new worlds with them, they would likely be lost for a long time. All of those treats must have made you forgetful." He walked closer to the ship, giving Axel a light jab to the side as he went. Xaldin was definitely not known for his kindness, though there were rumors that seeing others in pain cheered him up.

"He's right, Axel." Saix, on the other hand, wasn't so harsh. However, that was probably due more to his coldness than anything else. "These monstrosities will probably have rooted themselves in places that we haven't found yet. Also, if we stay on the move it will be harder for them to find us." He looked around the hangar, apparently looking for Xemnas. After all, they needed him before anything could continue as planned.

"So…" Demyx was already at the vessel's sides, feeling the cold metal under his hands. "We're going to fly around in a giant dragon ship, leave the castle to the Lowers, and go on a wild goose chase for magical new worlds to fight our evil Heartless twins? Cool." The Nocturne was always one for making a serious situation sound humorous, so the other members mostly ignored his comments, as they usually did.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of gazing at the Leviathan, Xemnas appeared through a Corridor. He kept his usual, dignified composure, but he seemed a bit shaken. Saix walked up to him, expecting a repost on the questioning. However, the Superior, instead of giving an answer, asked a question instead. "Saix…Are Heartless able to speak coherently?"

"No, Superior." The Diviner examined him closely, his senses telling him that something was definitely wrong. "Heartless can form words, but other than that one, none have been reported to have actually speak in intelligent sentences."

"Then…there is something wrong here." Xemnas sighed, looking ever-so-slightly horrified, which translated to extreme expression of emotion in the minds of the other members. He never showed emotion, not even when it was needed, so why now? "The Lowers reported that before the creature made off with Lexaeus, it told them where it was going."

"Maybe they're lying." Saix looked over Xemnas, worry faintly creeping into his mind. "After all, they might be trying to catch attention."

"No, Lowers are always honest. They had the fear of punishment and their duty to serve loyally pounded into them a long time ago." Xemnas paused for a moment, considering the weight of the information. "If these Heartless really are as intelligent as they said, then we may be facing a greater foe than we could ever possibly imagine."

"Like what?" Both Xemnas and Saix turned around to see Marluxia, who was standing by the entrance. They hadn't even heard him come in, so his voice was unexpected. "It isn't like they would be able to form their own Organization."

"They could…" Roxas was staring outside the room, where it looked quite dark and threatening, even with the white bars of neon light illuminating the area. "I mean, it's just like someone only sees the Dusks, and then meets one of us. They would say that Nobodies aren't smart enough to form an Organization, but we have one right now."

"Expect the impossible…" Oddly enough, this comment came from Zexion, who was currently sitting on the head-like cockpit of the Eternal Void. All eyes turned to him, since they hadn't really expected the Schemer to be able to say anything coherent. He blushed a little when he was noticed, something that surprised them even more. "That is, to keep or hold our minds open, broad, or creative." He seemed to have finally kept himself from rambling on, though he was still repeating the same thing with different synonyms. Roxas gave an encouraging smile at the Schemer, and was glad that he wasn't acting so crazy.

Marluxia sighed, and admitted defeat. "Very well, there is a possibility. I give in. By the way, where did this 'Heartless' say he was going anyway?"

"Well…" Xemnas paused yet again, reluctant to tell them their destination. "We'll have to go to Wonderland."

This was met with groans and sighs from the rest of the members. That is, except for Luxord, who looked as if he were celebrating. You see, no one liked Wonderland due to the fact that it was confusing, insane, and just plain weird. Strangely enough, that was like a paradise for the Gambler, who was rumored to even go there on his free time.

Xemnas still didn't seem pleased, however, and further clarified his statement. "A different Wonderland, Luxord. A much, much darker one…"

_Final boss dragon ship for the win? However, I do have a good explanation as to how that ship might relate to canon. This came over me while I was replaying the final boss fight, and I was thinking of how cool it would be to have the dragon ship in the fic. Of course, then I thought about that project, and how Xemnas's twisted subconscious might have chosen the thing as an inspiration for his…er…transformation later on. Other than that, it is just plain awesome. ._

_And guess which Wonderland I'm using~!_

_Speaking of which, do you have any world ideas I could use? If so, submit them! They might not make it, but I will definitely not just outright reject anything._


End file.
